GREENSBURG, Kansas - Flattened by a massive tornado on May 4, 2007, the small west Kansas town of Greensburg, intends to become more than green in name only. The town that lost 95 percent of its structures in the storm has focused its recovery on rebuilding as a model green community.

On December 17, 2007, the Greensburg City Council adopted a resolution that all city buildings greater than 4,000 square feet will be certified LEED Platinum, the highest level of certification available from the U.S. Green Building Council.

With this resolution, Greensburg leapt out in front of all other U.S. municipalities, to become the first in the nation to adopt such a standard.

City Administrator Steve Hewitt said, "I am so excited about being the first city in the U.S. to adopt this system for a town. I am ecstatic about this commitment and what it is telling the world about our town's character and where we are headed."

Mayor John Janssen said, "This is just another important step in our recovery and our intentions to come back as one of the greenest towns in America."

LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a voluntary program for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings developed by the U.S. Green Building Council in 2000.

Projects earn points in the rating system by satisfying specific green building criteria in each of six categories - sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality and innovation in design. The number of points the project earns determines the level of certification - certified, silver, gold or platinum.

"The city of Greensburg has taken the extraordinary step of committing to rebuild their community to a new vision, not settling for simply recreating what had gone before," said Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO and founding chair of the U.S. Green Building Council.

As part of the town's "Green Initiative," 10 commercial and public buildings in Greensburg have already committed to being LEED certified.

Fedrizzi says this number is impressive given the fact that only six buildings currently have received LEED certification in the whole state of Kansas and that this small rural community had a population of only about 1,400 before the tornado.

The first building to be constructed to LEED Platinum standards will be the city's Business Incubator, which is being designed by MVP Architects of Wichita and funded by U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development division and state funds.

Future LEED Platinum city building projects include the Greensburg City Hall.

Greensburg's LEED Platinum standard buildings will be required to reduce energy use by 42 percent over current building code requirements.

Fedrizzi said, "By committing to a recovery plan based on green building, the community's leadership has set a path that will result in a healthier, more livable city for its citizens, turning a crisis into an opportunity that is an example for us all."

Local, state and national organizations and agencies have helped to promote green building best practices for Greensburg and are helping the community plan for the future.

The green rebuilding effort has support from Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory and its subcontractors are providing technical assistance on all aspects of energy use and building design in Greensburg.

BNIM Architects of Kansas City, Missouri, worked with the city to draft the LEED resolution and to educate the community on the benefits of LEED Platinum certification.

The firm is developing a comprehensive master plan to rebuild Greensburg based around the principles of economic, social and environmental sustainability.

"BNIM is pleased to help Greensburg achieve its goal of rebuilding in a sustainable, energy efficient manner that will result in significant operational savings for years to come," said Stephen Hardy, associate of BNIM Architects and project leader for the Greensburg comprehensive master plan.

The state of Florida is the only other government to aim for the highest LEED certification. In July 2007, Governor Charlie Crist issued an executive order requiring all new state buildings to strive for LEED Platinum certification.

LEED can be applied to all building types including new construction, commercial interiors, existing buildings, homes, neighborhood developments, schools and retail facilities. LEED for Healthcare is currently under development and is expected to be released in early 2008.

Last year, the U.S. Green Building Council created an incentive for green projects that aim for the top by waiving fees for projects registering and certifying at the LEED Platinum level.

To identify more financial help for the recovering community, USDA Rural Development and the nonprofit South Central Community Foundation are coordinating the first Greensburg Resource Conference at the request of city officials. Scheduled for February 5 and 6 it will help identify all recovery assistance that is available.

Denise Unruh, executive director of the South Central Community Foundation said, "Helping Greensburg and its residents identify all recovery resources will help the community to make sound decisions. I encourage all potential donors to attend this conference."

Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2008. All rights reserved.